The Journey of an Overshadowed Girl
by Peach the Hedgehog
Summary: An unknown teenage girl is forced into Ari's role. Unaware of what happened to her, she soon goes on a quest to defeat Evil Kings. What will happen when the truth is discovered? Won't be continued. Check profile for details.
1. Prologue: Ari's Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own Okage: Shadow King, characters and places.

AN: My first Okage fanfiction! I got inspired by LuigiPenPal23's fic Okage: Shadow Queen, but this is my own story, and my own idea! I am not copying off of LuigiPenPal23's work. I happened to be playing the game when the idea came to mind. This can be considered a retelling with changed and added scenes. There will be spoilers in later chapters.

_Ari looked around the strange light blue space. Where was she? Why did this look so familiar? Standing in this space was another girl with short red hair and eyes that were emerald green. The girl looked around confusingly. "Hello? Anybody there?"_

_Ari was about to answer when another voice spoke out. There was something strange about this voice, but Ari didn't know why. Maybe it was due to the fact that she couldn't tell if the voice was male or female. "I see you are awake."_

_The girl looked around for the voice, Ari doing the same. Where was that voice coming from? It was as if it came from the air around them. "Who are you?" The other girl asked._

"_I'm sorry," the voice said sadly. "I cannot tell you. I don't know how you can ever forgive me for this."_

_The girl's green eyes widened and she became nervous, putting a hand on her chest. "What are you going to do to me?"_

"_I cannot tell you that either," the voice replied solemnly. "Even if I did tell you, I doubt you will remember it."_

_The other girl was about to ask the voice what it meant, as she put a hand through her hair. She didn't notice anything until the voice spoke again. "Forgive me. For my plan to work, I had to change your appearance."_

_Before either the girl or Ari could ask what it meant, a small mirror materialized in front of the other girl. Her hands trembling, the girl grabbed the mirror and looked at her reflection. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and she dropped the mirror. It disappeared before it could hit the ground. "How? Why?" was all the girl could say._

"_I'm sorry, but I have no choice." The voice sounded so sad. "This is for the best, I think. I'm sure you will not remember this, but if you do, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I'm so sorry, Ari."_

_Before Ari could ask why the voice was apologizing to her, the other girl got a confused look all over her face. "But, my name is not Ari."_

_Before anyone else could say anything, there was a flash of blinding light. Ari shielded her eyes, unable to see anything. But, she could still hear clearly. The other girl's voice was filled with pain. For some reason, Ari couldn't help worrying about her, even though she didn't even know her._

"_Are you alright?" Ari called to the girl. As Ari expected, the girl didn't hear her. So Ari called out again, more loudly than before. "Are you alright?!" But again, Ari got no reply. At least, not a reply that was directed to her._

"_Please, stop!" The girl's voice was pleading to the unknown voice. "My head! It hurts! Please, stop!"_

_The unknown voice started to speak again, but this time, Ari could barely hear it. The only thing she could hear was the other girl, begging to the mystery voice to end her pain._

Ari slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. "The same dream," she murmured softly. "Again."

For the past week, the girl had the exact same dream. In the dream was a girl, that looked a lot like she did. The girl would hear a voice talking to her. There was something that was familiar about that voice, but Ari did not understand why. The voice would always apologize, saying that there was no choice, and even called the girl Ari. The girl would say that her name is not Ari, then there would be a flash of light, and the girl would cry out in pain. The voice always started saying something else, but Ari never heard what it said. Then she would wake up.

"I wonder what it means," Ari mumbled to herself, putting a hand to her forehead. "What a strange dream." Ari put her hand down on her blanket and looked around the little room. Other than the bed she was sitting on, there was a dresser where her clothes were kept, a mirror leaning against the wall, and a lone cobweb above her bed.

Ari shrugged a bit, a smile spreading on her face. "No use in worrying about it. It's just a dream." She pushed the covers off her body, swung her legs over the side, and slipped out of bed. Her light blue nightgown slightly covered her knees.

She walked over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers, looking for the clothes she always wore. She was sure today was going to be just like every other day. Little did Ari know, she was soon going to embark on a journey that would change her life forever.

AN: I know this chapter is short, but others will be much longer.


	2. Chapter 1: Errand at Tenel

Disclaimer: I do not own Okage characters and places.

AN: Although I consider this a retelling, not all of the lines are 100 accurate. There is one scene with an added character which I made up. Again, there will be spoilers from this point on.

A red haired woman smiled as she was cooking at the stove, a delightful smell filling the room. "I am a terrific chef. Not to mention that I am a wonderful mom and wife," she said praising herself. She was so preoccupied with cooking, she didn't notice a young girl with blonde hair in pigtails walking into the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom!" the girl called to the woman's back. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, Annie!" The woman turned around to look at the girl in the yellow dress. "You just had lunch! You'll burst your little frame!"

"But, it smells so good!" Annie said, giving the woman a pleading look. "Come on! Tell me!" The girl couldn't help a smile when another girl walked into the room, wearing her usual blue striped shirt with a grayish black vest over it, brown pants and a blue striped headband on her head. "See? Ari came too! So, come on! Tell me what's for dinner! Is it stew or steak?"

"Well," the mother of the two girls looked in Ari's direction. "What do you think, Ari?"

Ari rubbed her chin for a moment in thought. They had steak a couple days ago. And it had been a while since they had stew. "I think it's stew."

Mom gave her two girls a smile. "The answer is... it's a secret!"

"That's not fair!" Annie complained, not satisfied with her mother's answer. "Come on! Tell me!"

Before Ari could comment, Mom decided to change the subject and turned to the table. The table was covered with a white tablecloth and there was a three piece candle holder on it. There was something else as well. "Ari, I've been meaning to tell you that Dad brought back a funny bottle yesterday."

"This bottle?" Ari questioned as she walked to the table. On the table was a strange purple bottle with two handles. It had some green markings with a blue gem on it.

Mom nodded at her. "Yes, that's it. But, the cap won't come off of the bottle."

Despite her mother's words, Ari put her hands on the cap of the bottle. She tugged and pulled as hard as she could, but it was just no use. The cap didn't budge an inch. Still, even though she couldn't open the bottle, Ari was a little curious. She couldn't help wondering what was in there.

Seeing Ari's failed attempt at opening the bottle, Annie protested to her mother. "It's pointless to have a bottle that we can't open! We may as well just throw it away!"

Ari shook her head at her little sister's comment, as she put her hands back to her sides. She knew that would not happen. She knew her dad well enough to know that he had plans to study that bottle until he found out what it was.

A look of realization suddenly crossed Mom's face. "I just remembered! I didn't pick up bread." She gave her children a hopeful look. "I'm busy cooking, so I can't go. What am I going to do?"

Ari turned to her mother, putting a hand to her chest. "Well, I can..."

"That's my sister!" Annie happily replied, interrupting her sister. "I would go too, but there is a test tomorrow at school, and I should study for it. After all, I can't sacrifice my education, right?"

"Okay, then the job is yours, Ari," Mom said with a smile as she headed back to the stove. "Please go to the bakery in the village, and pick up some bread. It will be put on our tab as always, so you can just pick it up. Thank you."

Ari nodded, even though her mother couldn't see it. " It's no problem, Mom." Turning around, Ari noticed that Annie had already left the kitchen. She shook her head and followed after her.

Ari knew that Annie was not studying. That was just a little ruse, so she didn't have to do any work. Ari didn't mind doing the work. She just wished that Annie would pull her weight a little more often.

For a moment, Ari stood in front of the wooden stairs in the living room. Then she moved to the front door. She opened it and went outside, closing the door behind her.

The sun shined brightly overhead and there was not a cloud in the sky. Standing near the stone stairs which led to the gate was Annie. Ari allowed herself a tiny smile. She knew she was right. She walked toward her little sister.

"What is for dinner?" Annie asked herself, remembering that Mom had not answered her question. Looking up, she noticed Ari, and put on her begging face. "Tell me, big sister!"

"I don't know what's for dinner," Ari told the girl. The smile that was on her face grew wider. "What about that test you need to study for?"

"Test? Oops, never mind!" Annie decided to drop the question and change the subject. "Anyway, I'm going on a twilight date before dinner with Morris. To polish my feminine airs, I need to build up experience while I'm young. My book says so too."

Ari sighed a little and shook her head. She knew what book Annie was talking about. "You've been reading Mom's book, haven't you? The one that's called 'Controlling Guys Made Easy'."

"Yep! That's the one!" Annie gave her sister a teasing smile. "Enjoy your errand, Ari!" Not giving Ari a chance to reply, the girl turned and walked down the stairs to the gate. She pulled open the wooden gate and rushed off, leaving it open. Ari shook her head again, and climbed down the stone stairs.

As Ari stepped past the gate, she turned around to close it. As she did, she looked up at the stone house that was her home. It was a big two story house with the inside floor covered in wood. Smiling to herself, Ari turned around again and walked on the dirt covered road which led to the village of Tenel.

"Hmm. Should I pick Nancy or Connie?"

Ari looked sideways and stopped walking. Standing nearby were three boys that were around her age. One was more pudgy than the other two, another wore glasses with freckles under his eyes, and the other was skinny. The speaker had been the pudgy boy.

"You still can't decide who you are going to ask to the circus tomorrow night?" questioned the skinny boy.

Ari's eyes widened, but she stayed silent. The circus was coming to town? She hadn't heard about this. Ari considered listening in some more. So long as she didn't talk, no one would know that she was around. Even if she was standing right in front of them.

"I'm working on it," The pudgy boy replied looking right at the skinny one. "Who are you asking out?"

"I... I," the skinny boy stuttered, a little embarrassed. "I'm going to ask Rachel out. And the two of us will go on a romantic date together!" The boy turned his attention to the boy wearing the glasses. "Are you going to ask a girl out?"

The boy in question put his right hand on his left arm. "Well... I do have one girl in mind..."

"Well, who is it, Ken?" the skinny boy pressed as he and the pudgy boy leaned closer.

Ken, the boy with the glasses, looked a bit uncomfortable as the other two boys got closer to him. Ari was about to speak up, to tell the boys to leave him alone. Ken spoke before Ari could. "I... I would really like... to ask Ari to come with me."

A stunned expression crossed Ari's face. Ken wanted to ask her out? He was a sweet boy, but Ari just didn't feel that way about him. Especially since she was hoping someone else would ask her. She didn't want to take the chance of being noticed now. Ari moved toward the gate that led to the village of Tenel.

Tenel was a very peaceful village. Not too many things happened here. The village had everything you would expect. The normal shops, the houses for the villagers to live in, and a church at the far end of town. Ari's father was the assistant manager at the Tenel Village Hall which was next to the church.

When Ari entered the village, she looked over to her left and she couldn't help smiling. A young man with short blonde hair and brown eyes was standing near the inn. He was wearing a simple white shirt, and tan pants with brown leather shoes. That young man was Julian, Ari's childhood friend, and her current crush. She walked over to him and smiled. "Hi, Julian!"

Julian did not respond. He was looking right at her, with a thoughtful look on his face. Yet, he didn't seem to realize that she was there.

Ari's smile wilted as she waved her hand in front of his face. He still didn't respond. "Hello? Julian?"

Julian's eyes focused on Ari the second time the girl called his name. "Oh, Ari! I was daydreaming. Sorry about that."

"That's okay," Ari said with a nod of her head. That always seemed to happen. Whenever she wanted to talk to someone, or to be noticed, she'd have to call out to them. Every now and then, she would have to talk to them twice to get them to notice. The only exception seemed to be her family.

"Did you know the circus is coming tomorrow night, Ari?" Julian asked the red haired girl.

"Yeah. I heard about it just now," Ari admitted with a little smile. She could feel a blush enter her cheeks, but she decided to ignore that. "Is there anything you want to ask me, Julian?"

Understanding what Ari was talking about, Julian gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ari. I already asked someone else. If you had come to me sooner..."

Ari shook her head, hiding her disappointment. "I understand, Julian."

A look of nervousness filled Julian's face and he was unable to look Ari in the eye. "Um... sometime soon... I want to tell you something important. Um... I gotta go. Bye, Ari." Julian walked off before Ari had a chance to speak.

Ari sighed a little bit and walked over to the bakery. She couldn't help feeling sad that Julian didn't ask her to the circus. Still, she wondered what he wanted to tell her. She stopped in front of the bakery door and looked up to the sky. "I have something to tell you, Julian," she said as she opened the door.

Although the bell rang above the door, the lady who ran the bakery was carefully putting stuff on shelf behind her, singing a happy song. Ari walked up to the counter. "Excuse me." The lady did not acknowledge that Ari was there. She just continued with what she was dong. Ari shook her head and called loudly, "Hello!"

"Huh?" The bakery woman spun around to see who called and smiled a little. "Oh, hello there, Ari. Don't I always tell you? You need to speak up! You're here for the bread right?" The woman turned back to the shelf and picked up a loaf of bread. Turning back around, she handed it over to Ari. "Here you go!"

"Thank you," Ari said taking the loaf into her hands. The bakery woman noticed a sad edge to Ari's tone of voice.

"Is there anything wrong, Ari?" the bakery woman asked, her voice filled with concern. Ari didn't get a chance to reply before the woman continued. "You need to keep your chin up, okay?"

Ari nodded and forced a smile on her face. Without a word, she headed for the front door and let herself out. Once Ari was outside, the expression on her face fell again.

By this time, the sun had started to set. Although it was a lovely sight to behold, Ari was in no mood to admire it. Ari watched as Annie walked up to her.

"Hi, Ari!" she said cheerfully. "I see you finished the errand. Let's go home. I think dinner is ready."

"Yeah, okay."

"What's wrong?" Annie asked with a teasing grin. "Did the bakery woman lecture you again?"

Ari decided to not answer with words and just nodded. The bakery woman did lecture her, but that was only half of the problem.

A thoughtful look filled Annie's face. "Let's see. You're the type... that blends into someone else's shadow." Annie giggled a little. "At least, there are those who see some good in you. Like Julian and Ken! You lucky girl!"

A look of surprise replaced Ari's sad expression. She had forgotten about Ken. She remembered hearing him say that he was going to ask her to go with the circus with him. Considering she didn't have a date, she decided to find him. After all, she knew he was going to ask her anyway, and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Ari rushed off ahead of Annie, ignoring her teasing comments.

_The same dream. The same blue space. And that girl. The girl that looked so much like Ari. There was something about this whole thing that was so familiar, but Ari still didn't understand why she felt that way._

_Ari could not stop the course of the dream. No matter what she said, the same things happened, as if she had been silent the whole time. The mysterious voice who apologized to the girl. The girl asking what it had planned for her. The flash of light came as it always did and the girl's voice cried out in pain._

_Though Ari couldn't see, she took a couple steps in the direction the girl's cries came from. It seemed no matter how many steps she took, she didn't get any closer. The voice of the girl called out to the mystery voice again as she did before._

"_Please, stop! My head! It hurts!"_

_Ari wanted to say something, but knew she was going to be ignored. Instead, she listened for the mystery voice. Although she could hear it, she still didn't understand what it said._


End file.
